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Catholic World News News Feature

Catholic Appointed New Chief Secretary In Hong Kong February 15, 2001

HONG KONG, Feb. 15, 01 (CWNews.com/Fides) - Hong Kong Financial Secretary Donald Tsang, a 56-year-old devout Catholic, has been appointed number two in the territory's leadership.

He will be Chief Secretary alongside Governor Tung Cheehwa, who was appointed by Beijing in 1997. Tsang's place as financial chief will be filled by banker Anthony Leung Kam-chung, former President of the JP Morgan Chase Bank, Asian-Pacific sector.

Donald Tsang succeeds Anson Chan, also a Catholic, who resigned in January, a few months before her term expired. Dubbed Hong Kong's "Iron Lady" and "conscience," Chan cited personal reasons for her departure. But many in the territory believe her strained relationship with Tung Cheehwa and their disagreements over policies and approaches to governance on issues such as defending Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms are the cause. The announcement of Chan's resignation was made only a day before the Hong Kong government launched accusations against members of the spiritualist group Falun Gong, calling it an "evil organization" with "political aims" threatening to outlaw it as a non-religious "rebellious" sect.

Since 1997, the year of Hong Kong's return to the mother country, territory appointments have to be approved by Beijing. Anthony Leung is known to be a "friend of Beijing." The choice of Donald Tsang is due first of all to his service since 1967 as financial secretary; Tsang led Hong Kong out of the Asian crisis (1997-1998).

Although he is known to be more moderate than Chan, Tsang's style could cause friction with the mainland government. While Hong Kong businessmen complain that politics and the economy are ever more closely interwoven, with projects assigned to "friends" and supporters of Beijing, Tsang continues to say that for Hong Kong's development four "pillars of wisdom" are necessary: rule of law, elimination of all privileges, corruption-free government, free flow of information, and personal liberty.

During a meeting with 900 students the day before his appointment as chief secretary, Tsang said he prays for 20-25 minutes every morning, attending Mass at St. Joseph's church. "Praying is very useful and perhaps even better than doing qigong (deep breathing exercises) or taiji (traditional Chinese calisthenics)," he told them.

Regarding his financial policies, the new chief secretary said: "When we create wealth, we should look beyond our own self interests to ensure no one is deprived of the opportunity to learn, to develop themselves, to meet their own basic needs. We should work together to create wealth for all, and not have to redistribute it," Tsang explained.